How does power shapes societies? Umberto Eco analyzed this question by establishing the psychological traits of fascism.

In present times, some seemingly reasonable people and organizations defend fascist values, but in reality display all of the psychological traits of fascism. These traits are unhealthy for people and societies because they encourage inequality.

Eco concluded that fascism is hypocritical, inconsistent, and seeps into people’s minds.

“Ur-Fascism can come back under the most innocent of disguises. Our duty is to uncover it and to point our finger at any of its new instances—every day, in every part of the world.”

-Umberto Eco-

Fascism’s three types of cults

According to Umberto Eco, fascism consists of three types of cults. First of all, the cult of tradition, with a reference to and a need to recover outdated teachings.

The second fascist cult if the cult of heroes and death. Fascists talk about taking risky actions and that death is no big deal if you die a hero. There’s more emphasis on justifying death rather than making life meaningful.

Likewise, fascism has a cult of action. According to fascism, meditating and thinking things through is a waste of time. In the eyes of fascists, thinkers and performers are cowards unless they act.

Rejections and exclusions

Fascists are against the social values that came with modernization and enlightenment. They believe things are only black or white, so there’s no need for debates or criticisms. What you see is what you get. Period.

Hence, fascism rebuffs any critical thinking. To disagree is to betray and anyone who thinks differently is a maverick who needs to be silenced. Another psychological trait of fascism is intolerance.

Fascists also fear difference. Dissidents are the enemy. To them, whoever disagrees isn’t a person, but someone who should be stripped of every human right. They also believe that dissidents are only envious of the revolution’s success.

Fear and apologia

Other noticeable psychological traits of fascism are nationalism and xenophobia. This type of apologia and rejection isn’t only against a country of origin, it’s also against the identity of a group or people. They amplify their own virtues and reject and prejudice others.

Fascists can be elitists too. They crave a clash of economic classes. To them, wealth measures human value. They reject any kind of weakness, as well as any indication of vulnerability.

Other psychological traits of fascism

Umberto Eco also mentions that fascists give special attention to the middle class due to the fact that it’s a dynamic socioeconomic group that’s not entirely defined. That’s why they’re easier to manipulate.

Another trait is the promotion of war. They’re not pacifists, no matter how much they like to call themselves that. They think the best way to resolve any differences is with violence to cut the head off the snake.

The final psychological trait of fascism is something Umberto Eco called neolingua, which is an extremely elemental and poor use of a language. Because only through this poverty of language can fascism neutralize any critical thought.

In conclusion, it’s important to protect ourselves from those totalitarian ways of thinking that have hurt many in the past and, unfortunately, still do.

It is becoming more and more common to hear about the different types of violence which can take place within a family. There is domestic violence, gender-based violence and even child abuse or mistreatment. All of these are equally important…

Before the trial against “La Manada“, many people asked themselves why society sometimes tends to blame the victims of abuse. People tend to do this when they share some of the aggressor’s traits or when they don’t want to endanger…

Humor is a natural therapy against stress. When you have a light heart, then the big problems don’t seem as big and the people who may intimidate you become less important. In this regard, you can liven up any evening…

What does it mean to be a leader? One of the questions social psychology wants an answer to is why people follow them. In the classic study of leadership, people look for characteristics that leaders have in common. But there’s too…

Sports psychology is a discipline usually used by elite athletes with an end goal of improving their performance by using certain tools. Today, competition is fierce. Factors that weren’t important before because they weren’t thought to make much difference in performance…

The distraction method is usually a good behavioral management tool, especially in young children. Diverting a young child’s interest and attention can help you avoid situations that could lead to unwanted behavior. Distraction is an effective strategy when parents believe that…

As much as you’d like to get along with your significant other 100% of the time, sooner or later there’ll be conflict in your relationship. It’s inevitable, not to mention healthy. Conflict is an opportunity for analysis and decision-making. Some…

Many experts define an emotion as a subjective state that has an overwhelming or intense affective load. While it’s difficult to explicitly describe emotions, everyone can describe these subjective states in a clear way. For example, you can describe a…

Meditation has become quite popular. As people learn about the benefits of daily meditation, they’re becoming more interested in incorporating meditation into their daily lives. Today, we’ll share some meditation techniques for beginners that’ll help get you started on your…

Sleep apnea in women is underdiagnosed. In fact, when people think of sleep apnea, they usually think of a middle-aged or elderly man snoring. This stereotypical image only tells a small part of the story. First of all, young people…

The content in this publication is presented for informative purposes only. In no sense is this information intended to provide diagnoses or act as a substitute for the work of a qualified professional. For this we recommend that you contact a reliable specialist.

The content in this publication is presented for informative purposes only. In no sense is this information intended to provide diagnoses or act as a substitute for the work of a qualified professional. For this we recommend that you contact a reliable specialist.